A typical marine vessel has one or more internal combustion engines that drive a propulsor, such as for example a propeller, impeller, pod drive, stern drive, outboard, or the like. The one or more internal combustion engines provide thrust necessary to propel the vessel.
Some marine vessels also include one or more electric motors, which are typically battery-powered motors utilized for trolling.
Abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/505,075, the entirety of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses marine propulsion systems that connect both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor to a propulsor in torque-transmitting relation so that the propulsor can selectively receive a sum of the torque provided by the engine and the motor.